News from Black Voluntary Sector Network Wales (BVSNW)

Project news

After being awarded funding from the Cardiff Youth Service to provide a series of Train-the-Trainers activities towards combating extremism, BVSNW is now ready to deliver the training to youth workers within both the public and voluntary sectors in Butetown, Riverside, Plasnewydd, Adamsdown, Splott and Grangetown.
If you are a local voluntary organisation and you would like one or more of your youth workers to take one of the FREE courses (3 sessions per course), please contact Michael Flynn at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it as soon as possible as the first delivery is about to begin.
 
Each participant will be trained to deliver a 10 session series of workshops to young people around:
·     Expressing their views in a coherent and non-violent way
·     Understanding legality around expression
·     Respecting the opinions and understanding the views of others
·     Intervention techniques for combating 'grooming'
·     Understanding all forms of extremism including: far right extremism, religious extremism, animal rights etc.

Funding News

Third Sector Partnership Council Funding
BVSNW has received £4,000 to again act as the Ethnic Communities representative for the TSPC.
This will allow us the capacity to again support and represent their network nationally.

WCVA Additional Funding
They have been successful in their bid (£7,000) to support their communications activities. This will expand their capacity in being able to more easily facilitate debate through more social media channels.

BME Offender Services
BVSNW has been successful in its funding bid to the Home Office Innovation fund. They have been awarded £70,000 to assist reducing re-offending by BME offenders in South Wales. The project involves engaging with offenders for a one-month period prior to release, and then providing volunteering opportunities for the offenders upon release, and the delivery of training and mentoring to help them re-engage with society. It will also help service providers engage better with BME offenders.
 
They will be working in partnership with Cardiff Prison, Parc Prison (Bridgend) and the National Probation Trust for this work over the next 13 months.
 
BVSNW will shortly be recruiting two officers to work on the project. If you are interested in receiving a recruitment pack, please contact BVSNW by phoning Ali Boksh on 029 2045 0068.

ACW Training project
BVSNW is delighted to announce the news of their long awaited training programme for Black and Minority Ethnic arts practitioners in Wales. The Arts Council of Wales has awarded the Arts Service a grant of £20,000 to deliver a series of professional development courses across Wales to maximise employment opportunities. BVSNW’s goal is to increase the number of artists from Black and Ethnic Minority backgrounds working professionally in the arts in Wales.
To find out more about the training programme and courses, which will be available from April, please phone Leanne Rahman on 029 2044 0188 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

ACW Core project support
BVSNW has also been successful in receiving funding (£25,000) from the Arts Council of Wales to help support its core Arts Development Service. The funding will enable them to provide support to BME artists in more parts of Wales throughout 2012/13.